According to the Legislative Research Commission, the bill, House Bill 136, was posted for passage Thursday afternoon. The Courier-Journal is reporting that HB136 cleared the house by a 65-30 vote following a debate of more than an hour and more than a dozen floor amendments.

HB136 now heads to the Senate for consideration. The Courier-Journal speculates the bill will face difficulty in the Senate, as Senate President Robert Stivers, a Manchester Republican, has expressed skepticism about legalizing medicinal marijuana.

The bill would allow doctors to prescribe medicinal marijuana, and would rename the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Public Protection Cabinet to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control. The bill would also establish an excise tax of 12 percent on cultivators and processors for selling to dispensaries, as well as other revenue and law enforcement measures.

State representatives Chris Harris and Angie Hatton are among the co-sponsors for the bill.

Click here for the full Courier-Journal report.

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According to a social media post by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, the “emergency phase” of the response to the Feb. 13 derailment of a CSX ethanol train at Draffin in Pike County ends today, Thursday, Feb. 20. According to the cabinet, CSX has removed all contaminated soil from the site of the derailment and is preparing to repair its railroad tracks, which have been blocked and closed since the derailment.

According to the cabinet, the contaminated soil recovered from the derailment site will be loaded into lined gondola railcars and shipped to a staging area where final soil testing will be performed before the material is disposed of in a landfill. All of the derailed tank cars and the three locomotives recovered from the site are being held in a staging area near the Draffin bridge as they go through a “cleaning process before removal.”

The cabinet reports that CSX will continue long-term monitoring of the derailment site, including water sampling.

The derailment occurred just upstream from an intake for Mountain Water District. The district reports, however, that the system was shut down before it could be affected by any materials spilled by the derailment and since it was restared, has passed continued testing performed in the wake of the incident.

The train derailed as a result of striking a massive mudslide just south of the Draffin bridge. The lead locomotive of the train came to rest partially in the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River. The train, a southbound train consisting of three locomotives, 96 loaded ethanol cars and two loaded buffer cars loaded with sand, caught fire following the derailment. The train crew — an engineer and conductor — were injured in the crash, but were rescued from the scene by boat operated by Millard Fire and Rescue.

The burned remains of the three locomotives were recovered from the derailment site on Tuesday.

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In a post to the department’s Facebook account, the Pike County Health Department says those preparing food from their home in Kentucky must now register with the State Food Branch in order to be legally allowed to sell. The health department also says home producers in Pike County must add a disclaimer label to their products if those products are not inspected by the health department. The label must read the following: “This product was prepared in a home kitchen without an inspection by the Pike County Health Department.”

According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services website, only the following foods may be prepared from home kitchens for retail sale:

• dried herbs

• spices


• nuts 


• candy (candy shall be produced without alcohol, and made with no bare-hand contact) 


• dried grains 


• granola that may be made with dried grains 


• trail or snack mix that may be made with dried fruit, nuts or seeds


• whole fruits and vegetables 


• dried or freeze dried fruits and vegetables 


• mixed-greens

• jams & jellies (low-acid, low-sugar, and savory jams & jellies should be approved through the UK 
Microprocessing program) 

• sweet sorghum syrup 

• maple syrup 

• preserves 

• fruit butter 

• bread 

• fruit pies 

• pecan pies

• cakes

• cookies

• popcorn that may be plain or have added seasonings.

 For more information, visit https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dph/dphps/fsb/Pages homebasedprocessing.aspx. Information is also available by calling the Pike County Health Department, at (606) 509-5500 or (505) 564-7181.

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Kentucky State Police Post 13 spokesperson Trooper Jody Sims tells Mountain Top News that that a juvenile was found dead in a wooded area on a hillside near a residence in the Emmalena community in Knott County. Sims says troopers and detectives are still gathering information at the scene of the incident off Montgomery Creek Road-Ky. Highway 1102.

Sims says the initial investigation indicates an animal, possibly a dog, may have been involved in the incident, but he says it remains unclear whether the juvenile, whose name has not yet been released, was attacked by an animal. Sims says the body of the juvenile will be sent to the state Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, which will be performed on Wednesday.

Sims says more information will be released on the incident.

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The three CSX locomotives from the ethanol train that derailed last Thursday and caught fire were pulled from the derailment site Tuesday morning. According to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, crews will begin removing contaminated soil and slide debris from the area before repairs are performed to the railroad tracks.

According to the agency, surface water sampling and sampling at the nearby Mountain Water District intake is continuing with good results so far. Water sampling will continue throughout the recovery and cleanup effort.

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According to court documents, 23-year-old Dalton Matthew Bates, of Neon, was arrested Wednesday at his residence at Wright Trailer Court near Neon Junction. According to court documents, an undercover Internet Crimes Against Children Investigation by Kentucky State Police discovered that Bates was using social media to message others about sharing material of child sexual exploitation.

Court documents said investigators found numerous images and videos portraying minors in sexual performances on Bates’ social media account.

Bates was charged with 20 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. He was lodged in the Letcher County Jail and was ordered held on a $100,000 cash bond. He’s due back in court Feb. 19.

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According to the National Weather Service office in Jackson, a flash flood watch is in effect from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning. The flash flood watch covers all counties in Eastern Kentucky and other areas.

According to a bulletin issued Wednesday morning by the National Weather Service, in addition to the light to moderate rain throughout the day Wednesday, heavier rain was expected Wednesday evening, adding more than an inch of additional rainfall. Much of the rain Wednesday night could come down in a short period of time, the bulletin says, bringing a threat of rapidly rising streams.

Flash flooding of low lying areas and creeks and streams will be possible, the bulletin says. Rivers are also expected to rise with renewed or worsening flooding being a possibility, according to the bulletin.

Mudslides are also a significant concern, as are winds which could be in excess of 35 mph. Because of soggy ground, trees could be uprooted by the wind, the bulletin says.

The weather service says a flash flood watch means conditions may develop that lead to flash flooding, which is a very dangerous situation. Those who may be affected by flash flooding should monitor forecasts and take appropriate action in the event flash flood warnings are issued.

Those finding themselves in emergency situations should dial 911 immediately.

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The Tug Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau will host the first-ever Williamson Pepperoni Roll Festival on Saturday May 2 at the Williamson Fieldhouse. Businesses and local culinary artists are invited to take part in the festival and compete for the title of having the area’s best pepperoni roll.

Awards for both businesses and individuals will be given for those who enter, as well as an award fan favorite. More information will be released at a later date.

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According to a statement from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Highway District 12, it may be well into the night Tuesday before the slide near Tug Valley ARH Regional’s Medical Center is cleared. The slide occurred Monday evening during the continued rainy weather, and large amounts of mud and trees spilled into the roadway.

The slide has blocked off access to Tug Valley ARH from the intersection of U.S. 119 and Ky. 292 in South Williamson. Travelers are advised to access the hospital by entering West Virginia and using U.S. Highway 52 to access Ky. 292.

Crews are working to get at least one lane of the roadway open.

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According to a statement from the Williamson Fire Department posted to the department’s Facebook page, firefighters were notified about the blaze at the Williamson Health and Wellness Center building located at 183 East 2nd Street just before 1:30 a.m. Monday. Firefighters, the statement says, discovered a small pile of debris burning in the rear of the building on the third floor, and the fire was extinguished and the debris removed from the building.

According to the statement, firefighters were called back to the same building, just before 7:30 a.m. Monday after being notified of smoke coming from the structure. When firefighters arrived, the statement says, heavy smoke and flames were visible from the location of the initial call, and firefighters eventually had to pull down the outside walls of the building in order to fight the fire.

“An interior attack on the fire was attempted but firefighters were quickly pushed out of the building by the fire and a defensive attack was initiated,” the statement says. “After several hours of fighting the fire from two aerial tower trucks and from the ground, heavy equipment was called in to pull down the exterior walls of the building. By opening the building, crews were able to more easily access the fire and complete the job of extinguishment.”

According to the statement, the Williamson Gun and Archery building located adjacent to the scene of the fire was damaged by water and smoke, but was saved from the fire.

After battling the fire for most of the day, the fire was eventually extinguished. Firefighters from Williamson were assisted at the scene by the Chattaroy Volunteer Fire Department, the Belfry Volunteer Fire Department and the City of Logan Fire Department.

“Their manpower and equipment was essential in fighting the fire and protecting the attached building next door. The American Red Cross was on scene with a food truck,” the statement says.

No one was injured in the fires. The fires remain under investigation by the West Virginia State Fire Marshall’s Office, the Williamson Fire Department and the Williamson Police Department, the statement says. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact one those those three agencies.

The Williamson Fire Department expressed its gratitude to the community for its support of the departments while they battled the fires.

“We greatly appreciate the tremendous outpouring of support by our community during the fight,” the statement says. “The food, water, coffee, dry clothes and other things brought to the scene were important to us and helped us continue to work throughout the day. This was truly a small town joined together in aid of its firefighters, no words can describe how thankful we are.”

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